Era of the Ancient Nightmares

I look around in horror, witnessing the nightmare unfolding around us, lost in my thoughts.

Gustavo suddenly grabs my arm in a hurry as the police begin firing and using heavy weaponry against the horrors surrounding them.

He pulls me into an alley to hide from the monsters attacking and devouring everything that moves.

Gustavo: Okay, this is a bit problematic. I didn't expect this kind of change—this is going to be difficult, Alan.

I look at Gustavo with a confused expression and ask, frustrated.

Alan: What do you mean you didn't expect this? YOU SAW THE DAMN FUTURE!!!

Gustavo looks at me and answers as if it's not a mystery at all.

Gustavo: I already told you, damn it. I see probabilities of the future. What I can control, I do. What I can't, I leave to time.

Hearing that, I was about to argue when—

BANG! BANG! BANG!

We both jump at the loud noise, and when we turn, we see something that freezes our hearts.

A being roughly 3 meters tall, with horns where its eyes should be, no lips—its yellow teeth constantly exposed—no nose, dressed like a butcher, holding two large cleavers, and with goat-like legs, stands there.

As if it were staring straight at us, it begins walking in our direction. In sheer desperation, I turn to Gustavo and ask.

Alan: Gustavo, what the hell do we do?

Gustavo stays silent but not calm. He's sweating so much that I can tell how nervous he is. Then, suddenly, an idea seems to hit him, and he pulls me close to whisper.

Gustavo: It's risky, but it's our best shot. You and I are going to run, making as much noise as possible. You'll follow me so we can shake this thing off our trail.

Hearing his plan, I just nod—because I'm not the one who sees the future, he is.

I don't have many options, so I start running with all my might alongside Gustavo, who begins screaming at the top of his lungs.

As we leave the alley, we see a scene even worse than before—because now, hundreds of bodies litter the ground, organs and body parts scattered everywhere.

But how the hell is this possible?

We were in that alley for, at most, five minutes—so how could so many bodies have appeared out of nowhere?

Noticing I stopped to analyze the corpses, Gustavo quickly shouts.

Gustavo: Alan, you idiot! The monster is right behind you!

When he says that, I turn around, and what I see terrifies me to my core.

The butcher monster is only four steps away from reaching me. In a panic, I start running again, dashing through streets that were once lively and bustling but are now filled with nothing but chaos and death.

It makes me feel sick, but there's nothing I can do about it—my only goal is to escape this—

THWACK!

UGH!!!

I'm sent flying when a powerful attack hits me from behind.

I soar through the air for a moment before crashing into a wall and—

CRACK!

I definitely broke something.

Cough! Cough!

I cough up what feels like my lungs, mixed with a lot of blood, before managing to recover—at least a little. I see Gustavo struggling to drag me away, or at least trying to.

Because Gustavo is terrible at running and carrying weight—even someone as light as 70 kg—so the monster is rapidly closing the distance between us.

And that's it. I really didn't think I'd die like this, but I guess it's better than ending up a vegetable.

The monster is five steps away from us.

Alan: Life is a bitch.

The monster is almost right in front of me, raising both cleavers, ready to slice me to pieces.

But before it can, I hear Gustavo say something.

Gustavo: We finally made it!

The moment he says that, that red wolf leaps onto the Butcher, sinking its fangs violently into his neck. In pain, the Butcher furiously swings his cleaver, slicing off one of the wolf's legs.

Feeling the loss of its limb and the searing pain flooding its senses, the wolf releases the Butcher's neck and steps back.

GROWL!

And suddenly, the wolf's severed leg regenerates in the blink of an eye, as if it had never been cut off.

Seeing this, the Butcher seems to lose the sinister grin he had before.

He throws one of his cleavers at the wolf, who jumps to the left to dodge the weapon.

Unfortunately for the wolf, that was the Butcher's plan all along. The moment the wolf lands, the Butcher lunges at it with his remaining cleaver, trying to drive it straight into the wolf's skull to finish the fight quickly.

Unexpectedly, the cleaver actually strikes the wolf's skull—but instead of falling dead, the wolf's mouth stretches into a massive grin, and its tail splits into multiple tendrils, stabbing and slashing at the Butcher.

Realizing that he was the one who walked into a trap, not the wolf, the Butcher panics and starts throwing punch after punch at the beast.

I was completely absorbed in this monstrous battle until something touched my shoulder.

Alan: Holy shit!

Damn it, I got scared for nothing—it's just Gustavo, hiding. He looks at me and whispers a reminder.

Gustavo: We need to go, man. When one of them wins, they're going to come after us, and then we'll have no way out.

Hearing what Gustavo said, I realize he's right—we need to get out of here now, or God knows what these monsters will do to us.

I still haven't recovered, so Gustavo acts as a crutch, helping me move.

After hours of moving silently and very slowly to avoid running into another situation like that…

We finally stand in front of a convenience store. I look at Gustavo for confirmation that it's safe.

He simply nods and says.

Gustavo: The worst thing we could find in there is bad survivors.

Hearing that, I feel much more at ease, and we step inside together.

To my surprise, there's no one here, which is strange, to say the least—but given the situation outside, I can't say much.

Gustavo helps me sit carefully on the floor while he goes to look for food in the store.

Damn, I'm exhausted—so damn tired. First, we were chased by the police and who knows what other government agency, and now we're running from monsters straight out of a child's worst nightmares.

On top of that, I have two broken ribs and a dislocated arm—which, by the way, HURTS like hell.

I want to sleep a little, but without Gustavo nearby to ensure we won't get attacked in our sleep, I can't close my eyes.

Gustavo returns a few seconds later with some snacks, but no real food.

Gustavo: Judging by your face, I can already guess what you're thinking. I searched, but I was too slow—someone already took all the canned food and anything quick to prepare.

Ah… that makes sense. Oh well. I grab some junk food and start eating.

Now that I think about it, this is probably the last decent meal I'll have, so I better enjoy it.

I eat so much that I almost keep up with Gustavo, and after we finish everything we had…

Gustavo helps me up, and we head toward… wait, where are we even going?

Alan: Hey, Gustavo.

Gustavo: Yeah?

I hesitate for a moment, feeling uneasy, then ask.

Alan: Where exactly are we going again?

Gustavo pauses, looking at me with an embarrassed expression, and says.

Gustavo: I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?

Hearing what Gustavo just said, I already know—we have nowhere to go.

Sigh.

I let out a deep breath and look at him.

Alan: Hit me with the bad news first. That way, when you get to the good part, it'll sound at least a little better.

Gustavo smirks at my words and responds.

Gustavo: There isn't a single safe place in the world right now.

Hearing that, I almost pass out. I was about to ask what the good news was, but he beats me to it.

Gustavo: The good news is that the first safe zone to appear will be nearby.

Well, at least there's that. Imagine how long we'd have to—

Gustavo: But it won't exist for another month.

…

I hate Gustavo. Seriously, how does he wait until NOW to tell me that we'll have to spend an entire month running from monsters?!

Sigh.

Alright, let's be reasonable. Whether he told me now or later, it wouldn't change a thing—we'd still have to run and hide for a month.

Seeing me accept my fate, Gustavo leans in and whispers in my ear.

Gustavo: Look on the bright side. You've got way better chances of finding a girlfriend now that so many competitors are gone.

The moment I hear that nonsense, the first thing I do is punch him in the shoulder.

But I end up tripping and nearly falling, though Gustavo helps me stay on my feet.

We both chuckle a little before continuing our way through the alleys, sneaking around to avoid the monsters.

After walking for a while, we come across a subway entrance. Gustavo and I stand there, staring at it for about ten minutes.

The reason? Gustavo is scanning all possible futures.

After those ten long minutes, he lets out a frustrated sigh and looks at me.

Gustavo: I can't see all of them. There are so many that I lost count.

I glance at him and ask,

Alan: Okay, I get that there are a lot. But how many of those end in disaster?

Gustavo pauses for a few seconds before answering.

Gustavo: In most of them, there are survivors down there.

Hearing that, I think for a moment before making a decision.

Alan: Let's go. It's better to be around other people than to be alone.

Gustavo simply nods and takes the lead, helping me walk beside him.

We move quietly toward the subway station and start descending the stairs.

At the bottom, we find the gate locked—it won't budge.

So I turn to Gustavo, expecting him to come up with a solution—

BANG! BANG! BANG!

This lunatic is hammering on the metal gate like a madman.

I was about to yell at him when, out of nowhere, the gate suddenly opens.

Standing there are three men with makeshift spears, pointing them directly at us, ready to skewer us on the spot.

Gustavo and I immediately raise our hands.

But as soon as they realize we're just people, they lower their weapons. One of the men grabs us by the arms and pulls us inside.

Man 1: Get in, quick! It's chaos out there.

As he pulls us in, what I see inside takes me completely by surprise.

______________________________________

Power stones, please.